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For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”<\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n We need to recognize God\u2019s sovereignty now as we will eternally.<\/p>\n \u201cConfess<\/span>\u201d is translated from the Greek verb exomologe\u014d<\/em><\/span>, which is made up of ex<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201cout,\u201d used here as an intensifier and homologe\u014d<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201cto agree with, to have the same thoughts as, or to assent.\u201d Homologe\u014d<\/em> <\/span>is usually translated as \u201cconfess\u201d which means to agree with God regarding His verdict against our sin. Thus, exomologe\u014d<\/em> <\/span>means \u201cto proclaim in agreement that God is who He claims to be.\u201d<\/p>\n This verse is quoted from Isaiah 45:23<\/strong><\/span> which says:<\/p>\n I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth <\/span>in<\/em> righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath.<\/span><\/p>\n As can be clearly seen, this is not a direct quotation for there are a couple of significant differences. Isaiah says, \u201cI have sworn by Myself<\/span>\u201d whereas Paul says, \u201cAs I live<\/span>.\u201d We learn in Hebrews 6:13<\/strong><\/span> that God can swear by no one greater than Himself. We also know from Exodus 3:14<\/strong><\/span> that Jehovah is the self-existing one; He has life in Himself. So, Paul\u2019s expression, \u201cAs I live<\/span>\u201d is a declaration by God that He is the author of life itself, and as such, there is no one greater than He is. So it is roughly equivalent to \u201cI have sworn by Myself<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n The other significant difference between Isaiah 45:23<\/strong><\/span> and Paul\u2019s quotation of it is that Isaiah says \u201cevery tongue shall take an oath<\/span>,\u201d whereas Paul says \u201cevery tongue shall confess to God<\/span>.\u201d The Hebrew word translated \u201ctake an oath<\/span>\u201d is the same word translated \u201cI have sworn<\/span>.\u201d It means to swear an oath. The expression \u201cevery tongue shall take an oath<\/span>\u201d means that everyone will swear an oath of allegiance to the supreme God. Thus, again, what Isaiah said and what Paul is saying are effectively the same.<\/p>\n The context of Isaiah\u2019s proclamation seems to imply that every tongue among the Israelites will swear the oath of allegiance, and the context of the current verse (at the bema seat judgment) implies every tongue among the righteous. Thus, it appears to be a different event from Philippians 2:10, 11<\/strong><\/span> which involves all created beings, righteous and unrighteous.<\/p>\n Paul\u2019s point in the current verse, and the reason he quotes the particular passage in Isaiah, is that we should not be judging or despising our brothers and sisters in Christ because we (Christians) will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and there we will all bow before Him and confess that He is our Lord, our Judge, and our God<\/p>\n And, if we are submitted to Him and committed to doing His will now, then we will be too busy to worry about whether or not our brother or sister is convicted the same way we are.<\/p>\n We are all guilty of casting judgment against our fellow Christians from time to time. Our sin nature wants to exalt itself by condemning others, but this is nothing more than selfish pride. Instead, we need to submit to our Lord and Master and focus our attention on serving Him in a manner that will please Him and bring glory to His name. If we all do that, we won\u2019t be judgmental of other Christians and together we can proclaim His sovereignty and majesty.<\/p>\n In God\u2019s service, for His glory,<\/strong><\/p>\nTruth to Learn<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Behind the Words<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Meaning Explained<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Application<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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